Welcome to the World
by furubayasha
Summary: Alexandra randomly gets sucked into this new fad, and drags her friends with her. What will she do with that annoying old man? And what about her romantic intrests, or lack thereof? Too long for one chapter, so don't leave it alone! Rated T for LANGUAGE!


I walked down the street from my school, trying to avoid the puddles from the rain on Tuesday. School was a bitch, and I was not in just any normal bad mood. I was extremely pissed over the projects and assignments due next week.

Not paying attention to where I was going, in a typical me fashion, I ran into a box. That box made me trip into what had to be the biggest puddle in New York. _Great_, I thought to myself, _Now I am wet and oh, joy, the box is broken_. _Not my problem, though I might as well see what was inside_.

That decision to look would turn out to be one of the biggest mistakes I had ever made.

I looked at the contents of said spilled box, and found an instruction manual. _Weird, I wonder what it's for_. Looking at the front of the manual, you couldn't tell what it was for, but you could tell it was a manual because of the thickness, type of paper, and weird-smelling ink that it was printed with.

Leafing through the pages, I found only diagrams and battle strategies. _Wow, another battle RPG_._ When will something more interesting come along?_ I thought as I placed the soggy book in my bag.

Continuing to trudge through the rain to a home that is always empty can really cause a person to wander from the path, and that is exactly what I did. As it started to really pour, I took shelter under an overhanging in front of a game store. _Maybe they can tell me what this manual is for_.

Walking into the semi-small shop, I sloshed over to the counter, where an old man was standing next to a colorful sign covered in stickers. I wondered momentarily what the sign was for, but proceeded to fill out a form for the old man, stating my name, birth date, phone number, and other standard information. After handing the old man the paper back, he headed below the counter and gave me a plastic bag for the book. _Great, now he can take the book so that I can leave_.

Much to my surprise, he took the book and then said, "We'll call you when your version of it is in. Until then, please enjoy your good fortune!" _WHAT?! What game? _I thought to myself as I walked out the door into the rain with a plastic shopping bag holding the manual. _And why do I still have this stupid piece of junk? This is doing nothing to improve my mood_.

I took out the manual and realized that it was wrapped in a protective case. _WAIT a second_, I mentally screamed, _WHY do I go into the store to get rid of a soggy, decrepit book and come out with a soggy, decrepit book wrapped in protective casing?! Today is being absolutely RETARDED!!_ This made no sense to me, so I ran to the nearest store to stay dry while pondering this mystery.

Of course, the store that I head into is a collectible card store. Heading towards the front desk, I worried over what would happen in this store. Would I walk out with a brand-new television, or another random game manual?

"Hi."

"Hello, how can I help you?" the man at the counter asked. He was really fat and ugly, the stereotypical computer nerd with no life.

"Well, I was just wondering," I stated as I took out the manual, "if you could tell me what kind of casing this is for."

His eyes widened, but he replied, "This is only used for books of high value."

I could tell that he was going to start talking more in-depth about the quality of the manual and the priceless value and blah, blah, blah, but I personally didn't have all day to dedicate to talking about old collectibles, especially if they were ones that I had found in a puddle that day. "Thank you, bye now!" I said as I walked out the door of the shop, the bell tinkling. _That solved absolutely nothing_.

I darted through the rain past the commercial district towards my apartment. Entering the door, I took off my coat and shoes and squeezed out my drenched hair. I swear, puddles came out of that bush. Leaving the bag at the front door, I headed towards the bathroom and shrugged out of my soaked school clothes. Making sure to throw the wet clothes in the hamper, I slipped into a nice tee-shirt and pajama pants. _Now I can relax, and do my every evening ritual of cereal dinner, TV shows, and homework_.

But, life had a different plan. As soon as the milk was poured and the fifteen minute eating period before it became soggy began, the phone rang.

_Damn, why? WHY? This had better take no longer than five minutes or else my cornflakes will become soggy, and then I will be very, _very _mad_. The person on the other line had a different idea, though, and as soon as I asked, "Hello?" I could tell that this was going to take a while.

"Hi, yes, is this Ms. Alexandra Luna whom I am speaking to?"

"Yes, it is. How may I help you?" I courteously replied, humoring the person on the other end so that their day wouldn't end up being too bad.

"Good, good. Well, the game that you ordered is expected to come in to the store in a few weeks, but you could stop by the warehouse next week, and it will be ready for you then."

_What the hell? It's seven thirty at night, and this guy calls me to tell me this game that I didn't even want is available at the warehouse? Okay, this is going too far. I am getting out of this mess now_. "Excuse me, but could you tell me what game this is?"

"Oh, sure, hold on a second." I heard some shuffling of papers, and then he replied, "Well, you are receiving The World. This is the most popular game on the market right now, and with it you receive the hand-held controller and face mask. You also get the software needed to upload the game onto your PC or Macintosh, and after you enter all of the security codes printed on the box, and insert your player information, you can access The World, and enjoy the virtual reality within."

_Okay, this guy sounds like a walking advertisement, and I am literally watching my cornflakes get soggy as I stand here. This sucks. A LOT. I want to eat my cornflakes, but now I will need a new bowl of them, and, oh, shit, I'm all out. Just my luck. Well, at least I have some Lucky Char….NOT THOSE TOO!! ARGH! My day just gets worse and worse! When will the injustice end?!_ I thought as he rambled on and on about 'The World' as I walked around the kitchen looking for something else for dinner. I semi-politely replied, in a strained voice, "Thanks you very much for all of the information. I'll be sure to get the game when it comes in, thank you very much."

"Oh, and if you could stop by tomorrow with that manual, that would be great," he slyly slipped in at the end.

"Sure, I'll come after school," I replied. _Maybe he is going to take the manual off of my hands! I still wonder what it is for…_

"Thank you very much. Enjoy your continuous good fortune!"

_What a crack addict, good fortune my ass. He ruined my cornflakes! And my evening, too!_ I hung up the phone and slammed it on the counter as I threw my cornflakes down the drain. They were super soggy, almost liquid, so they went down it easily.

As the night dragged by, I watched some television until my eyes were seeing dots, and then I decided to call my best friend. The phone rang less than one time, and then he answered, "Hey, Alli, what's up?"

"Nothing really, trying to evade the evilness of today."

"Oh, poor baby. Tell me what happened."

"Well," I jumped at the chance to relay my day to whomever was willing to listen, "first I fall down in a puddle, and then I picked up a book that was in the puddle."

"What's so bad about that?"

"Well, Alek, you see, picking up that book was the worst mistake of the day. It sort of snowballed the rest of the bad events."

"Well, what was the book about? Or did you not read it yet?" Alek replied with a sarcastic tone.

"Funny that you ask, but I flipped through it and it was a weird manual-like thing, so I thought to myself, 'Why not go to a game store, and then maybe they can tell me what it is.' That caused me to get wrapped up in this thing with the old guy at the counter, and now I am buying a game called 'The World,' because apparently that is what the manual is for."

"Weird, but I guess you can play the game once you get it. It's really a good game, you know."

"How would you know? Do you play it?" I snorted, exasperated that he was making this seem like an asset to my life.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do, and if you don't approve, I'm sorry, but this is a really great game. You meet new people, and it's so realistic. We can meet up in there, you know."

"What the hell? Why haven't you told me about this before?!" I shouted, "You could have saved me a whole day of aggravation! But nooooo, let's just all go out of our way to make Alli have a bad day. Yeah, good plan."

"How was I supposed to know that you would have learned about The World under such shady circumstances?" Alek replied, irritated by this random turn of events. "And just because you're having a bad day doesn't mean that everyone else has to have a bad day too! You're soooo moody, and I know that you aren't just PMSing.You're always like this, and sometimes, it just pisses me off!" He was shouting at this point, and I knew that this wouldn't end nicely, so I went down the path of evil and retaliated.

"Okay, you try having my day all on your own, and see how it turns out. Have a nice life, loser, because your bitching isn't helping make either of our days better at all."

"Look who's talking, bitch!"

"Oh, look. A hypocritical, sadistic masochist who is calling other people bitches when he has to look in the mirror to see what to call me!" I knew this was a low blow, because he absolutely hated big, long words that he barely understood.

"Huh?" he replied, "Oooookay, just so you know, Frankenstein's wife is at the door. She wants her hair back."

"Well…" I snorted. I couldn't help it. I started choking up with laughter. "That is the oldest one in the book. You couldn't come up with something better? Come on, now. You know that when I get home, I don't care anymore, especially when it rains, about my looks."

"Sorry, Alli, but you needed that." He was laughing too. "That was one serious conversation-slash-bitch fight we had going on. You were so into it!"

"Yeah, that would have to be our best yet." I could hear him yawn on the other end.

"Well, I'd better get going. I need to clean, cook, eat, watch tele-"

I hung up the phone once he started rambling, knowing that he wouldn't even realize that I was gone for a while. I laid back on the couch, relieved that I had worked through some of today's horridness. A few minutes passed, and then the phone rang.

_That's got to be Alek_.

"Why the hell did you hang up on me?!" he yelled, obviously irked.

"Shouldn't you know by now, that once you start rambling about all the crap that you have to do, I'm going to hang up?"

"Yeah, but that was a short one. ONLY what I had to do before I could go to bed. ONLY that. Come on, now."

"Yeah, so, thanks for listening to me."

"Thanks for not listening to me."

"You're welcome. Anytime."

"Ah, always the jokester. Just so you know, I have two tickets to Kadean's concert tomorrow. Wanna go?" he asked.

"Soooo, is this another one of your schemes to try to get me to date you?"

"No, this time," _Yeah, this time, like you haven't done it soooo many times before_, "I really just want to go as friends. So that you can get your mind off of things, you know?"

"Sure, just no kissing, or attempts. That was hella awkward last time-you don't want to try it again. Next time, you won't get away with just a scratch."

"I've all but given up on it," he sighed. I suddenly felt bad for him, because ever since the 2nd grade, when we became best friends, he had tried to get me to marry him, then kiss him, then go out with him, and the trials and failures go on and on. Many people ask me why I still hang with him, then, and I think it's just that he's so nice. I don't want a boyfriend, so why should I force myself to go with him out of pity, or friendship? That would be mean.

"Good. But you never know, maybe someone else will come along," I hopelessly said. _Yeah, he's not given up on me since the second grade_._ I don't think that he'll give up and be just friends anytime soon_.

"Okay, well, I'll see you tomorrow. Do you want me to pick you up?"

"No, I'll meet you at the Starbucks in Central Park."

"Sure, how about seven? The concert starts at eight, and it's a twenty minute walk from Starbucks to the Oracle Arena."

"Sounds good! Meet you then."

"Great! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the PKs strike."

"What in hell….never mind, tell me later, I'll forget tomorrow anyway." I hung up the phone, and turned off the television. As soon as I went to bed, I knew that tomorrow would come faster than wanted. Turning towards the digital clock, I saw that it was only ten. _Damn, I keep falling asleep earlier and earlier_._ One of these days I'll miss something important that happens late at night_…

The next day, I woke up, disoriented and bedraggled, around eight-thirty. "DAMMIT!" I shouted at the alarm, because it didn't go off. I jumped out of bed, extremely irritated that I was going to be late to class, and sped through my morning routines, completely skipping the shower due to time constraints. _I'll just take one tonight, before I go to Starbucks_, I wishfully thought as I scrambled to find clothes.

As I pulled on my jeans, I brushed my teeth and stuck my phone in my bag. I ran the brush through my hair really quickly as I searched for a clean top. Exasperated, I pulled a tee shirt from the bottom of my dresser and threw it on. _I should be arrested for fashion violation, this reeks!_

As I escaped through the door, I took an orange and some toast from the kitchen. _I'll be laaate_, I sang in my head, as searched my bag for the key. _Where on earth-oh, no_. I thought as I dashed back inside and scooped the apartment key from my purse. _Thank goodness it was there_.

As I locked the door, I shoved the toast in my mouth and dashed down the flights of stairs to reach the exit. I scrambled to the bus stop, and then decided to instead run to school, seeing as I missed the last morning bus. _Good thing my apartment is only a mile from the college_, I thought as I ran and ate.

Once I reached the campus, I woefully trudged into the main building. _I knew it, I'm late_._ Damn it, and now I'll have to stay after class, and on a Friday no less_. _I just hope we don't have class, and then maybe I won't get in to any trouble at all_…

Just my luck, Professor Price was sick, and the class was just disbanding from the room as I arrived. Of course, I was the whole ten minutes late, and if he were there I would have been in trouble. I skipped over to my friends, whom all had Professor Price with me, and waltzed with them back out the building.

"You are sooo lucky that today is the only day that Price decided to call in sick," Amanda said. She was super hyper, really popular, and went by Ama (Ah-Muh) most of the time. Everyone loved her, and the boys lined up by the mile to go out with her. She was short, but still looked ultra-feminine with caramel colored mid-back length hair.

"Yeah, he almost never calls in sick. That would be the first time this year that he hasn't lectured us this year!" Shannon exclaimed. She was the most energetic, aside from Amanda, in our group, and her short pixie-cut pink hair made her stand out from everyone else. She loved being the center of attention, and rarely ever stayed out of a conversation within ten feet of her. She loves being called Shauna.

"I can totally tell that someone slept in today. Your hair is a pile of crap, and I can tell you ran to school. Did you not remember to set your alarm?" Hannah asked. She always was on the cutting edge of fashion. Today she sported an amazingly flattering halter top and short shorts, and her figure showed nicely. I was so jealous of her, being a model an all. She was plastered everywhere in magazines and on television. Everyone always commented on her oddly un-dyed shoulder length strawberry blonde hair.

"Yesterday my first class was at ten, so I think I might have forgotten to change it," I sheepishly replied.

"Well, at least she got lucky," Josephine said. She was shy and reserved most of the time, but she always had a level head. She was the voice of reason to our mostly out-there group. She was short with semi-long black hair, and had a pleasant demeanor. We sometimes called her Pio (Pea-O).

"So, girls, what shall we do today?" I asked, "putting aside the fact that I was almost late, we should celebrate our free morning."

"We just need to be back here by the beginning of class, so that we won't chance being late like Mocha almost was," Josephine rationally stated.

"Great! Let's go to Mocha's place!" Shannon almost screamed once we stepped off the campus. Mocha was my nickname, and only because of my long brown hair. I was the tallest, aside from Hannah, and my hair was the longest. It reached my waist, and it was a deep, coffee colored hair.

"Sure, but only if you guys help me pick an outfit for tonight," I compromised.

"Ooooo, does our Mocha have a daaaate?" Amanda squealed as we passed the bus stop.

"Like you're one to talk, with your hoard of boys that wait on your hand and foot," Shannon retorted as she stalked ahead of us. "Oh, you, give me a foot scrub, and you, fetch me a frappuccino, oh, and yoooouuu can give me a smooch." Then she smooched the air with kissy lips, and all of us started cracking up. Amanda fumed as we entered my apartment, and then my phone started ringing.

"You are really lucky that Price isn't teaching us right now. He would have burned it!" Hannah exclaimed. I glared at her, and then picked it up as we waited for the elevator.

"Halloooo?" I asked in a Tiggerish sort of voice. Sniggers filled the air as I continued, "This is Alli."

"Hello, good news, your copy of The World actually was brought in early. Do you want to come pick it up?" _Of course it won't be Alek, it's the old man from the stupid store_.

"Sure, I'll pick it up later today, if that's not a problem."

"Great! I'll have it ready for you. Good fortune awaits you!"

I hung up as the elevator arrived, and was infinitely puzzled.

"What's the matter, you look troubled," Josephine asked as I continued to think.

"Oh, I'll tell you guys once we get to the apartment, but I need some coffee and a shower first."

"So then you have a hangover? Or did you get laid? The old coffee and cold shower trick doesn't work, you know," Shannon said.

"No, I just didn't get a chance to this morning. I don't have a guy, and you know through experience, of course, that it doesn't work," I sarcastically replied.

"Oh, but what about that guy…What's his name again? You quote un quote best friend?" Hannah prodded.

"Alek? No, but he is always trying to get together with me. I told you guys, I don't want a boyfriend!"

"So, you turned the poor boy down? Now that's harsh. I didn't know you were that cold," Amanda smirked as she entered my apartment.

"I told him that I wanted to be friends. We're going to Kadean's concert tonight, but I warned him-no funny business," I said as I walked to the shower, "Help yourself to some coffee-just save some for me, please!"

I took a shower and put my jeans back on. Walking into my room, I found the shirt that I was looking for this morning-a cute tank top that had a picture of me and Alek on it. I walked back into the kitchen as I combed my hair, smelling the amazing coffee that my friends made. As I sat down, they pestered me to tell them about the phone call, and so I retold the whole scenario, including the phone call with Alek. After I was finished, I took the mugs and put them in the sink, and they started to question me.

"So are you going to get the game after school?" Josephine asked as she brushed my hair for me.

"Yeah, but it's really only to humor the old man right now-I think that he might be insane."

"That's mean!" Amanda exclaimed as she finished a piece of chocolate cake, "How can you judge him on whether he is senile or not?"

"I think…"

"Well, what do you think, Shauna? Or are you not thinking at all? Gasp!" Amanda said.

"Shut up, Ama! I said, I think that we should all get The World, and then Mocha wouldn't have to waste money on a game, because we'll all have it and use it," Shannon thoughtfully said.

"Well, the pink pixie thinks good thoughts. Let's all buy The World!" Hannah exclaimed.

Josephine looked thoughtful for a bit, and then said, "We could always take it on trips and during break, so that we can stay in touch easier than e-mail."

"Pio, you always think of the best ideas! Let's do it!" Amanda screamed.

_Great, this is going to be a mess_. _At least my friends AND Alek will both have The World_._ It will be one messy party_. "I was planning on going after my last class, around three-thirty or so. You guys wanna come with? Then you can all help me get ready for the Kadean concert afterwards," I offered, seeing as we were almost out of time before class began again.

"Sure!" was the simultaneous reply of my friends as we stood up and headed towards the door. Once we got to the campus, we went to our classes, and then met up for lunch in the cafeteria.

After classes adjourned for the day, we met under our favorite oak tree in the front and headed from towards the central city shops.


End file.
